Therapy Culture

On some corners of the internet, therapy has taken on an increasingly political meaning. This is because concepts from therapy and psychology have been adopted into popular usage, sometimes losing a lot in translation. 

We call this Therapy Culture. Many people online are engaged in a good faith effort to raise awareness of mental health. But while therapy itself remains a neutral method of healing, Therapy Culture offers terms and ideas that can be claimed by any faction. 

Throwing around diagnostic labels like ‘Narcissism’ and ‘Borderline Personality Disorder’ creates a huge risk. This is the kind of language that sorts people into boxes and gets weaponised. 

Many therapists – myself included – do not even engage with these terms, preferring to focus on improving the lives of our clients rather than handing out labels.

Who Therapy is for (Spoiler: All of us!)

The worst outcome of modern Therapy Culture is the illusion that therapy is “for” some people and “not for” others.

This is false. Talk therapy long predates the internet and the controversies of the current political moment. It even predates the 19th century and the work of Sigmund Freud. 

Versions of therapy appear in philosophical traditions like the works of Plato, in religious practices like Catholic Confession and even in ancient religious rites like the Akitu Festival in ancient Mesopotamia.  

Modern practice sharpens its effectiveness and clarifies the therapeutic frame (i.e. the particular relationship between therapist and client). But in its simplest form, therapy is probably as old as language. 

Therapy Culture turns some people off and makes them feel like therapy is not intended or available for them. But everyone deserves to be understood and listened to. 

Therapy has no favourites or enemies, it remains as neutral as any other human tool, from agriculture to stone masonry.

"He dies as Paul Atreides and is remade as Muad’Dib."